Ryan Reynolds Finally Confirms He Leaked the DEADPOOL Test Footage in 2014
Back in 2012, filmmaker Tim Miller teamed up with Ryan Reynolds to put together a CGI test reel for Deadpool. The short clip was meant to convince 20th Century Fox execs that a comic-accurate take on Wade Wilson could actually work on the big screen.
Unfortunately, the studio didn’t bite, and the character was left collecting dust after his disastrous (and very not comic-accurate) appearance in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Then came 2014’s San Diego Comic-Con. Out of nowhere, that test footage suddenly appeared online and blew up. Fans went nuts, the response was overwhelmingly positive, and Fox was forced to take notice.
Within 24 hours, the Merc with a Mouth had a green light. Two years later, Deadpool became a massive box office smash and a cultural phenomenon.
But the big question always lingered… who leaked that video? For years Reynolds played coy, tossing out cheeky teases without ever admitting it. Now, he’s finally come clean.
"I'd shot test footage for it a couple years before, and the studio just didn't want anything to do with it," Reynolds said, confirming the executives weren’t convinced at first.
"And Deadpool's a fringe character," he continued. "People didn't really know who he was, and I loved him. I was obsessed with it because I loved that he knew he was in a comic book movie.
“It was kind of meta, it was kind of new. But the test footage existed, and it really was a case study of how this could work. And they just wouldn't do anything with it."
Then came the reveal fans have been waiting a decade for.
"Some a**hole leaks it online and I'm like, you know, looking at the guy in the mirror brushing my teeth," Reynolds confessed. "And I'm like, 'Dude, what have you done? This could be punishable by law!' But the internet forced the studio to say, 'We're gonna make this movie,' and 24 hours later, that movie had a green light."
The gamble paid off big time. Deadpool earned $780 million on a $58 million budget, spawned an equally successful sequel, and paved the way for this summer’s record-breaking Deadpool & Wolverine at Marvel Studios.
Reynolds isn’t slowing down either. He’s most likely going to reprise his role in Avengers: Doomsday and is rumored to be developing an X-Force project for the MCU’s post-Secret Wars future. It’s clear Deadpool isn’t going anywhere as long as Reynolds wants to keep suiting up.